All three UM juniors staying in school, waiting on NFL

Miami’s three juniors who considered a jump to the NFL opted to return for their senior season, they announced in a Monday morning news conference.

The decision wasn’t surprising considering Seantrel Henderson, Brandon Linder and Curtis Porter were not projected as high-round draft picks.Juniors had until Tuesday to declare themselves eligible for the April draft.A year ago, the three Miami players saw a mass exodus of teammates who left early for the draft. In most cases, the decisions backfired.

Coach Al Golden later said he hoped this class learned a lesson from the mistakes made by last year’s early departures.

Henderson said last year's exodus did not impact his decision this year.

"I pretty much just worry about myself and my teammates," he said. "Other guys' decisions don't really involve me because that has to do with them and their family. I really just concentrate on me and the teammates that we have now and continuing on with what we have to do to win."

None of the three who announced Monday were considered top-round talent.

Henderson, who played at both tackle positions, missed all of August practices and sat out the season opener at Boston College. He was rated the No. 15 offensive tackle by WalterFootball.com.

Porter missed the first eight games while recovering from an appendectomy. In four games, he made nine tackles (2.5 for loss) as a defensive tackle.

Linder was an honorable mention All-ACC right guard who started all 12 Miami games.

Since they're returning, the three participated in Monday's weight room test. All three improved their rep totals on the 225-pound bench press. Henderson said he did 22, Porter 33 and Linder 36.